Mashpee oyster farmer gets legal boost

Attorneys for the town and opponents of a planned Popponesset Bay oyster farm will teleconference next week to discuss the fate of a Massachusetts Land Court case stemming from the ongoing legal challenges to the project.

MASHPEE — Attorneys for the town and opponents of a planned Popponesset Bay oyster farm will teleconference next week to discuss the fate of a Massachusetts Land Court case stemming from the ongoing legal challenges to the project.

Richard Cook, a Mashpee shellfisherman, has been fighting for three years with homeowners who have called his plans for a 1.9-acre oyster farm a nuisance and safety hazard.

On May 20, the Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled against the residents in two legal challenges linked to votes by the town's Board of Selectmen and Conservation Commission to approve the project.

In the ruling, the three-judge panel briefly discussed the Land Court case, in which the residents claim the project's approval ran afoul of the town's zoning laws. Even though the zoning matter was irrelevant to the two cases before them, the judges called the claim "without merit" because the project would be located beyond the extreme low-water mark in the bay, putting it outside the town's zoning authority.

While the Appeals Court comment didn't specifically say if the zoning laws would apply, Patrick Costello, Mashpee's town counsel, said the comment was enough to spur Land Court Judge Gordon Piper to schedule a conference call to discuss the future of the zoning-related case.

"When the Appeals Court chimes in ... the lower court is going to take notice of it," Costello said.

Cook has won local and state regulatory approval for his proposed farm but has been stymied by the lawsuits filed by homeowners. They also attempted to use a lobbying firm to put a provision into the state budget that would have killed the project.

Despite his recent victories, Cook isn't clear to start his oyster farm yet. The homeowners could appeal the Appeals Court cases either to the full court or to the Supreme Judicial Court, Costello said, and the Land Court case may still proceed.

A message left for the homeowners' attorney, Brian Wall of Sandwich, was not returned Tuesday.